It hasn’t exactly been a slow news week, so we’ll get right in to some of the most important news going on and the info you need to know.
The Comey Firing – We Need An Investigation
Trump’s firing of FBI Director James Comey is an obvious move to interfere with the FBI’s investigation into his campaign’s collusion with Russia during the election.
We know that Trump fired Comey as investigations into the Russia scandal were ramping up significantly. Prosecutors just issued grand jury subpoenas in the Russia investigation, Comey had recently asked the Department of Justice for money for the Russia investigation, and insiders say that Trump had grown enraged. And now we’ve learned that Trump personally initiated the process that led to Rosenstein’s memo and ultimately Comey’s firing.
This is just the latest example of Trump acting like a bully when feeling threatened. U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, Sally Yates, James Comey – Trump is out of control, and he’s personally interfering with important legal investigations.
It’s now obvious that Trump has a wide array of personal issues – with Russia, with his taxes, with the profit that he’s making off of Mar-A-Lago and his presidency – and he’s desperate to quash any effort to inform the public about what’s really going on.
Trump’s firing of Comey makes it obvious that we cannot allow the Russia investigations to be buried by a corrupt Administration and complicit Republican leaders in Congress.
Our Senator Maria Cantwell went on CNN to talk about the importance of having a special prosecutor who can do an independent investigation into the collusion between Trump and Russia – click below to watch:
The Republican Response
While our Democratic leaders are standing up to oppose Trump and demand an independent investigation, Washington State Republicans are defending Trump or shamefully remaining quiet. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Dave Reichert, Jaime Herrera Beutler, and Dan Newhouse are all standing by Trump while he eviscerates our ethics laws.
What does Trump have to do to lose their support? Is passing tax cuts for the rich so important to them that they’re willing to stand by Trump through all this? This is a shameful betrayal of the American people to protect their political party. We know that Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell won’t do anything to rein in Trump themselves – we need a popular movement putting pressure on all Republicans in Congress to act.
If you think that Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Dave Reichert, Jaime Herrera Beutler, and Dan Newhouse should join Democrats in supporting a special independent prosecutor, sign our petition here! And if you’ve already signed it, please forward this email to three friends and ask them to sign as well!
The Constitution charges the President with the task of taking care that the laws be faithfully executed. A President is impeachable if he attempts to subvert the Constitution.
We need to know if Trump has done that.
DNC Chair Tom Perez Coming to Seattle on Tuesday
We are excited to announce that DNC Chair Tom Perez will be joining us as a special guest and headlining our first Resistance event in Seattle on Tuesday, May 16th! Please consider signing up for The Resistance so you can join us for what it sure to be an exciting evening.
Already a Resistance Member? Email joebarden@wa-democrats.org to RSVP!
Tuesday, May 16
5:00pm to 7:00pm
Centilia Cultural Center at Plaza Roberto Maestas
1660 S Roberto Maestas Festival St.
Seattle, WA
As a member of The Resistance, your sustaining monthly contribution will allow us to invest directly into community organizing. Every monthly dollar raised by The Resistance will go directly into field and community organizing in districts across our state, and all members of The Resistance will receive buttons, stickers and a monthly newsletter detailing Stories from The Resistance.
We hope to see you next Tuesday as a member of the Resistance!
Next Week is Filing Week!
Candidate filing week is coming up, May 15th through 19th, and if you or someone you know if interested in running for office then this is the time to step up!
We’re proud to have a strong slate of candidates already running for our state legislative seats – there are five seats up in our state Senate for special election in November, and we have strong progressive women running in all five seats! We have Manka Dhingra in the 45th (the most important legislative seat in the country in 2017), Michelle Rylands in the 31st, Karen Hardy in the 7th, Senator Rebecca Saldaña in the 37th, and Senator Patty Kuderer in the 48th.
But there are many important races across the state, particularly at the local level. City council, school board, fire and water districts, and much more – which often make decisions that have hugely important impacts on people’s lives. The website for your county’s elections department will have information on what races are open in your area this year. Filepalooza is another website that can look up offices open for election in your area this year and help you file.
Another resource that can help is our partner website, TrainDemocrats.org! They provide effective, free, and online trainings for Democrats who are candidates, potential candidates, or want to do more to work on or understand campaigns. If you’re interested, we encourage you to sign up and learn more about how to be a strong and competitive Democratic candidate!
The first step to winning elections is to be on the ballot, and we want Democrats running for office everywhere. If you or someone you know is interested in running, it’s time to step up!
Thank you for reading and for your support!
